Bob Iger Quick Links

Iger reportedly told employees this week that one of the studio's upcoming movies has been hacked.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has reportedly claimed that hackers have targeted the studio and have held one of their flagship future releases, rumoured to be the fifth instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean, to ransom.

The Disney head honcho told ABC employees that hackers had taken one of the studio’s films and held it ransom, threatening to release it to the public unless an undisclosed sum was paid, at a town hall meeting in New York City on Monday (May 15th), according to The Hollywood Reporter. The studio is refusing to pay up, and is working with federal investigators.

Disney has extended their ban on depicting smoking in films to the Marvel and Star Wars subsidiaries.

Abraham Lincoln can smoke in Disney movies but Tony Stark has been banned from lighting up a celebratory cigar. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced future Disney films will not feature any smoking, in order to protect children from images which may glamorise and encourage smoking. Iger made the announcement at the annual shareholder's meeting on Thursday (12th March).

Smoking will not be permitted in any future Marvel films such as any Avenger sequels.

Disney chairman Bob Iger has announced plans for a sequel to the billion dollar animated movie Frozen. Iger shared the news at a shareholder meeting where the company showed the short feature Frozen Fever to stockholders before it goes out before Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella.

Frozen 2 will probably break all records. All records.

Frozen broke records in the US to become the highest grossing animated movie of all time. It grossed $400.7 million and $873 million internationally to take over $1.2 billion worldwide. Disney also pushed out a lucrative merchandising line and a stage show is believed to be in development.

Parents across the globe are being faced with the prospect of logging into their eBay accounts, searching for "Frozen dress" and shelling out a cool $1,600 to keep their Disney obsessed kids happy. Stores across the U.S. have sold out of the replica dress worn by Princess Elsa in the most successful animated movie of all time, leaving parents to trawl through the auction site in the hope of getting somewhere near the $225 face value.

'Frozen' Was A Huge Hit For Disney

"Every mom in the world is dying for this dress," said Costello, a Los Angeles marketing consultant with a "Frozen" obsessed 4-year-old. "The lucky moms who have found this dress for their daughters brag about their success and unanimously proclaim how their kid can't stop wearing it."

Ben Sherwood has landed one of the top jobs at Disney - but does he have what it takes?

Ben Sherwood, the former ABC News man who is now head of all Disney's non-sports television efforts worldwide, says he has a "lot to learn." Sherwood will take the reins fully in February 2015, when Anne Sweeney - who tapped him for the job - departs to pursue a career as a television director.

"The transition that Bob Iger and Anne have conceived basically means that I will work very closely with Anne over the months ahead," Sherwood told B&C, "There are things that I know and things that I do not know about this sprawling portfolio within the Disney/ABC media group, and so I have quite a bit to learn. We're going to be working very closely on all of that."

There are news for nearly every Disney fandom - from Star Wars to The Incredibles, even Frozen was not left out.

In news you didn’t know you needed until right now, Disney has confirmed the development of two new Pixar flicks. One is a third Cars movie, but before you cringe and ash “Why?”, the other project is a sequel to TheIncredibles! So said Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger during a sort of “State of the Disney Union” address on Tuesday, during Disney’s annual meeting of shareholders, in Portland, Ore.

jJ Abrams is bringing back Luke, Leia and Han... maybe.

There was also some Star Wars info casually dropped into the conversation. Iger revealed that the next Star Wars movie will pick up 30 years after the events in 1983's Return of the Jedi. This means that the speculation about Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher returning to play aging versions of their original characters might have been spot on or at least it works within the time frame. Iger was careful not to reveal too much, however and only hinted at the possibility.

Walt Disney chief executive Bob Iger has confirmed several stand-alone Star Wars movies that are not part of the new trilogy currently in the works. Screenwriters Larry Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are already in a dark room somewhere scribbling away, though Iger did not go into detail about the new project. "There has been speculation about some standalone films that have been in development, and I can confirm to you today that in fact we are working on a few stand-alone films," he told CNBC.

He did say the movies would be based on "great Star Wars characters that are not part of the overall saga," and would be released during the six-year period of the new trilogy, which begins in 2015 with Star Wars: Episode VII. Disney confirmed last month that Star Trek director J.J. Abrams will direct the hugely anticipated seventh instalment of the saga. Though early Twitter speculation has focused on Darth Vader as the possible focus of the spin-off movies, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News - known for his movie scoops - says otherwise. "Well, f*ck it...The first Stand Alone film is going to center upon YODA. At this stage specifics are sparse, but Kathleen Kennedy is putting together a STAR WARS slate... I'm wildly curious for more details on the YODA film - would this be a young or old YODA tale?" he wrote. Harry also spoke of a possible Jabba The Hut story that George Lucas has floated to "some of his buddies"

There's no official word from Disney, though Yoda would certainly be amongst the most likely of characters to helm a Star Wars spin-off movie, perhaps the most marketable too (think of all the Happy Meal toys.)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has already raised $100 million towards the development of a museum dedicated to the history of movies.

The non-profit organisation has a goal of $250 million to raise for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and has already raised a substantial amount of that, despite only launching the campaign earlier this year.

Donations to the scheme have been received from private donors, as well as from some of the major Hollywood film studios. According to The Wrap, The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate have all contributed to the scheme so far, as have a number of Academy members, including the co-chairs and their families, as well as past Academy Governors. The campaign for cash was promoted and chaired by prominent industry figures such as Annette Bening, Tom Hanks and Walt Disney’s chairman Bob Iger.